David Haines was beaten by his guards so badly that his kidnappers had to get him medical treatment to save his life, a pal disclosed.

The 44-year-old dad of two may have been singled out for brutality because of his UK citizenship.

The friend said: “During the first months of his captivity he was very badly treated.

“After that they helped him to recover. They even provided medical care, though it was extremely basic.”

Mr Haines now faces death at the hands of hooded Islamic State assassin Jihadi John.

The black-robed Brit, who has already beheaded two US journalists, warned that Mr Haines would be next to die unless the US stops air strikes on IS fighters in Iraq.

The charity worker was kidnapped 19 months ago in Syria by gunmen in two cars.

“I don’t know what is wrong with the kidnappers. Don’t they know David was helping Muslims?”

Dragana Haines, David's wife

Mr Haines, working for the Paris-based Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development, was in the final hours of a three-day tour to assess locations for refugee camps.

He was snatched by what appeared to be an African gang who later sold him to IS.

Over nine months he was moved at least 10 times. Cellmates included Americans James Foley, 40, and Steven Sotloff, 31, who have since been beheaded by IS.

Last night Mr Haines’s wife Dragana, 44, who lives in Zagreb, Croatia, with their four-year-old daughter, said: “She sees me crying all the time. I don’t know what is wrong with the kidnappers. Don’t they know he was helping Muslims?’’

Many of the 500 Brit jihadis who went to Syria to fight against President Bashar Assad’s forces want to come home after becoming disillusioned, it emerged yesterday.

A man representing 30 militants told King’s College London’s International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation: “We came to fight the regime and instead we are involved in gang warfare.”

Hanif Qadir, a former extremist, said: “Many thought they were going out to fight a holy war. Now the reality has dawned that they have walked into a complete mess.”